Thursday, December 31, 2009

There are 38 nationalities represented in the list. Allowing for albums with multiple nationalities, there are 1065 national entries.

No surprises with the USA and UK at the top of the list - 521 entries (49%) and 400 entries (38%) respectively. Then things get interesting.

Canada in third (24 entries) makes sense - but surprising they didn't get more entries, with Joni Mitchell, k.d.lang, Leonard Cohen, Rush and The Band.

Australia punches above its weight in fourth position (15 entries) - with a big push along from Nick Cave. Australia shares credit for a number of artists including AC/DC, Crowded House, RHCP (Flea is an Aussie) and The Bee Gees.

Germany (14) is the highest non-Anglophone country in fifth. Kraftwerk and Can lead the charge.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

To refresh your memory, the eleven best years by number of entries were:

1967

29

1968

33

1969

36

1970

29

1971

35

1972

30

1973

32

1977

29

1978

34

1994

29

1996

29

It shows that bimodal distribution we've noted before - the golden era from 1967 to 1978, and a smaller peak from 1994 to 1996.

So what made 1969 the greatest year ever?

CCR, Fairport Convention, Led Zeppelin were firing - each landing two albums in the list. There were also classics from a diverse range of artists including Frank Zappa, Isaac Hayes, Johnny Cash, King Crimson, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, Neil Young, Sly & The Family Stone, The Band, Beatles, Bee Gees, Kinks, MC5, Stones, Stooges, Temptations, Velvets and Van Morrison. Phew!

Its hard to imagine anything like it today. It would be challenging to name 35 really crucial artists - let alone imagining them all releasing one or more albums in a single year that will be regarded as a classic in forty years. If you weren't there, you have my sympathy.

Monday, December 28, 2009

What artists have sustained creative genius over several years, achieving entries in two or more consecutive years? Surprises ahead...

David Bowie

All hail!!

Bowie has two runs in the list...

Hunky Dory - 1971

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - 1972

Aladdin Sane - 1973

and

Young Americans - 1975

Station to Station - 1976

Heroes - 1977

Low - 1977

Given the two runs are separated by only two years, it is arguable that this burst of sustained brilliance is close to The Beatles - who achieve seven entries over seven years (see below).

BUT...consider the other albums Bowie released around this time. Notably, Diamond Dogs in 1974 links the two lists. That would be 8 albums in 7 years.

But these works are prefaced by Space Oddity (1969) and The Man Who Sold the World (1970).

That's 10 very strong albums over nine years. In my not so humble opinion, the greatest period of sustained brilliance by an artist in the modern era.

The Beatles

No prizes for naming The Beatles. Seven (!) consecutive entries.

With The Beatles - 1963

A Hard Day's Night - 1964

Rubber Soul - 1965

Revolver - 1966

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 1967

The Beatles (White Album) - 1968

Abbey Road - 1969

Any one of these would have been a career defining peak for most bands. Will we see anything like it again? Hard to imagine.

The Byrds

If you've read the previous posts, this probably doesn't come as a surprise either. Five entries in four years. Nice.

Mr Tambourine Man - 1965

Fifth Dimension - 1966

Younger Than Yesterday - 1967

Sweetheart Of The Rodeo - 1968

The Notorious Byrd Brothers - 1968

There was certainly something in the air! (Or the Kool Aid.) This is a band that I should really know a lot better than I do. A worthy target for vinyl acquisition.

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin - 1969

Led Zeppelin II - 1969

Led Zeppelin III - 1970

Led Zeppelin IV - 1971

Led Zep extend the golden era. They also reenter in 1975 with Physical Graffiti. In between was Houses of the Holy (1973). Presence followed Physical Graffiti in 1976.

That's seven superb albums - but over a relatively leisurely 8 years.

The Kinks

Face to Face - 1966

Something Else by The Kinks - 1967

Village Green Preservation Society - 1968

Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire - 1969

More from the golden era. I think I thrashed Village Green to death long after it had first been released - but had still never really seen The Kinks as a serious album band. Dammit, another massive hole.

Talking Heads

Talking Heads '77 - 1977

More Songs About Buildings and Food - 1978

Fear of Music - 1979

Remain in Light - 1980

I hadn't really thought of them - but yeah. Note Eno's fingerprints - again. He co-produced the last three albums in this batch - after working with Bowie on Low and Heroes in 1977.

Ol' Bob

Bringing It All Back Home - 1965

Highway 61 Revisited - 1965

Blonde On Blonde - 1966

Another burst from the golden era. He is also on the list with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963). In 1964 he released The Times They Are a-Changin' and Another Side of Bob Dylan. After Blonde on Blonde came John Wesley Harding (1967) and Nashville Skyline (1969).

That's 8 strong albums over 7 years - although only 4 made the list.

He'd chip in Blood on the Tracks in 1974. Then over twenty years later another entry with Time Out of Mind (1997) and a live concert LP from 1966 released in 1998.

Elvis Costello

My Aim Is True - 1977

This Year_s Model - 1978

Armed Forces - 1979

Elvis makes three more appearances on the list - in 1982, 1986 and 1994.

Sonic Youth

EVOL - 1986

Sister - 1987

Daydream Nation - 1988

The Sonic Kiddies also appear on the list with Goo (1990) and Dirty (1992).

Steely Dan

Can't Buy a Thrill - 1972

Countdown to Ecstasy - 1973

Pretzel Logic - 1974

They reenter in 1977 with Aja. In between was Katy Lied (1975) and The Royal Scam (1976) - a pretty strong body of work - six strong albums in as many years.

Joni Mitchell

Court And Spark - 1974

The Hissing of Summer Lawns - 1975

Hejeira - 1976

Blue (1971) also appears on the list. Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977) is also a contender.

Stevie Wonder

Talking Book - 1972

Innervisions - 1973

Fullfillingness' First Finale - 1974

He reenters in 1976 with Songs in the Key of Life. Four classics in five years.

Yes

Fragile - 1971

The Yes Album - 1971

Close to The Edge - 1972

Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) and Relayer (1974) are also strong contenders. So five solid albums in four years.

Queen

Queen II - 1974

Sheer Heart Attack - 1974

A Night At The Opera - 1975

But A Day at the Races (1976) and News of the World (1977)

were also pretty solid albums. So that's five good albums over four years.

Jimi Hendrix

Are You Experienced? - 1967

Axis: Bold As Love - 1967

Electric Ladyland - 1968

Roxy Music

Roxy Music - 1972

For Your Pleasure - 1973

Country Life - 1974

Eno plays on the first album but not the other two. Apparently there was not enough room for two Brians in the band.

The Smiths

Meat is Murder - 1985

The Queen is Dead - 1986

Strangeways Here We Come - 1987

Morrissey is back as a solo artist - appearing on the list four times from 1987 to 2004.

Black Sabbath - 1970 - Black Sabbath / Paranoid. With the exception of Sab's Vol. 4 heavy metal was all down hill from here, until it fractured into a million sub-genres. Symphonicthrashgothspeedmetal with a twist of lemon anyone?

David Bowie - 1977 - Low / Heroes. Is it any surprise that a partnership between Bowie and Eno would have been special? Eno himself was on a solo creative roll - entering the list in 1977 with Before and After Science.

Iggy Pop - 1977 - The Idiot / For Life. Bowie strikes again - what a roll!

After this incredible creative outpouring of the golden era it would be nearly twenty years until another artist pulled off the double - not coincidentally in the 1996 mini peak.

Who has sustained creativity over the longest period, as measured by the gap between the earliest and latest appearances on the list?

Not too many prizes for guessing Bob Dylan. "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" was released in 1963 and gave us "Blowin' in the Wind", "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "I Shall Be Free" et al. His most recent entry is 1998 - a 36 year "career" (ironically a live recording from 1966). "Time Out of Mind" is the most recent new recording - released in 1997. I wouldn't be surprised to see another entry from the old Bob before he shuffles off.

Johnny Cash had a renaissance just before he passed and is just behind the old Bob with 35 years. "Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison" was released in 1968. Who else could sing in a prison concert "Well I laughed in the Sheriff's face and I spat in his eye."? In 2002 he was back with his third entry, "American IV: The Man Comes Around".

The 20 Year Club

Bruce ! (Springsteen) 5 entries over 28 years with the most recent in 2002. Surely he's got a few classics left in him?

Emmylou Harris - two entries over 26 years. Go girl.

Robert Wyatt - two entries over 24 years - one of those artists I've always meant to check out.

Neil Young - of course - seven entries over 22 years with the most recent in 1990. Now he could definitely pop out a classic any time, which would put him into third spot.

Leonard Cohen rounds out the 20 Year Club - four entries over 21 years. His recent concerts in Sydney were very well received - so he must also be still regarded as a threat.

Long Service Leave (over 10 years)

Muddy Waters

Elvis Costello

Tom Waits

U2

Morrissey

Aerosmith

Miles Davis

Paul Simon

Portishead

The Fall

Elvis Presley

Metallica

XTC

Nick Cave

Pink Floyd

Radiohead

Madonna

Green Day

The Cure

ZZ Top

Peter Gabriel

REM

Slipknot

Portishead, Nick Cave, Radiohead, Green Day, Slipknot all made their first appearances in the list 1990s.

It probably doesn't surprise you that Dylan and the Beatles are at the top of the list - with seven appearances each. Surprising and gratifying, Bowie and Neil Young also make seven appearances. I'm liking this list. If you had to chose four artists for the proverbial desert island this would be a pretty good selection.

The Stones follow closely with six appearances. But you'll never guess who also makes six appearances. Elvis. Costello not Presley! I've always meant to listen to more Elvis Costello.

Now things start to get really interesting. Springsteen, Zeppelin, The Who and The Byrds each appear five times. Fair enough. Also appearing five times are Brian Eno (!), Radiohead, Sonic Youth and Tom Waits. That's fourteen in total, so far.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

The chart above (click on it for a bigger version) shows the number of entries for each year from 1955 to 2008. There appears to be two big creative peaks - a massive peak from 1967 to 1979 (with a dip centred on 1976) and a smaller peak from 1987 to 1996. Major troughs were 1981 to 1985 and 2001 onwards.

1967-74: The flowering of the 60s - a creative explosion centred on 1969 which blossoms and matures over the next 5 years. I can't imagine we'll see anything like it MUSICALLY in the lifetime of anyone now living. There will be creative explosions, just not in music. My money is on the fusion of gaming / filmmaking / TV and other immersive / interactive technologies. With respect to those art forms we are in the equivalent of the 1950s - the big breakout is 5 to 10 years away.

1976: Wha' happen? A transitional moment. To oversimplify, the music forms that had their genesis from 1967 to 72 had run their course - the UK punk counterrevolution was gearing up.

First, a big thank you to Robert Dimery (Editor) and the Before You Die people for publishing 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. An even bigger thank you for putting up the list on their web site.

http://1001beforeyoudie.com/

But some brickbats. (What the hell is a brickbat anyway?) The list viewer on the web site only allows you to see a maximum of 100 entries at a time. But even worse - where is the download feature? There is no easy way to download the list. Why put the list on the site but not provide a downloadable version? This just means I have to spend some time fiddling around with Excel to get the list in a format that I can analyse.

BTW I did a quick poke around the Web to see if anyone else had done it. Nothing up to date and comprehensive.

An hour or so later and I have the 1001 Albums in an Excel spreadsheet ready for crunching. Mwah ha haah.

Oh - the list on the 1001 web site is not the latest edition. Grrr. But there is a list of additions and deletions in the forum section of the site. A bit more fiddling and I'm ready to roll.

Friday, December 25, 2009

The day after Christmas 09. Still digesting yesterday's gastronomic assault - but nevertheless managing to squeeze in some more chocolates, sweets, tea and more tea. With the prospect of more Champagne this evening. The Champagne of the season is Piper Heidsieck, but I digress.

For as long as I have been into music, I have been an avid reader and rereader of music guides. I spent many hours pawing over various NME guides as a teenager. Since then there have been the Mojo guide, essential albums / songs / artists / labels, genre guides, etc..

Nearly one thousand colour pages proclaiming the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" is too good to resist. (As if resistance was ever seriously contemplated.)

First published in 2005, the edition I received (from a prescient Santa) was published in 2009 and includes ten albums from 2008. (I wonder which older albums were dropped to make way for these ten?)

Another Christmas present was a new turntable - something I've been without for...15 years? 20 years?

As much as I love iTunes, iPhones, Genius, I have recently been finding music fatiguing. Genius and "1001 Songs" by Toby Creswell have enabled me to excavate parts of my music collection that haven't been heard for millenia. But it is omnipresent (my iPhone and its portable music subcollection is never far away). And it is work. A track comes up on a Genius playlist that I haven't listened to for ages - there is no album artwork - and it is from a compilation album and the date is wrong. So now I am working through all the songs I have in iTunes from that artist...finding artwork, assigning songs to correct original albums, correcting dates and so on.

I am really looking forward to lying on my bed with album cover in hand and intentionally listening to a whole album - or at least side a of an LP. No skipping, no genius lists, no curating.

A turntable + "1001 Albums..." = blog entries

There will be much slicing and dicing of the 1001 albums - as well as individual album reviews.

It promises to be a fun time. If you are reading this, I'd love to hear from you. The life of a blogger can be lonely.